According to Friedman, Plant's unwillingness was definitely not shared by co-founder Jimmy Page. "Jimmy went crazy," an unnamed source is quoted as saying. "He really wanted to do it."

This is all obviously hearsay, but it's worth noting that Friedman is taking credit for breaking news of the Desert Trip festival in the first place — and that the $14 million figure is in line with the sum that the performers who eventually ended up signing on to play are reportedly being paid. Each act is said to be earning $7 million per weekend — which, as Friedman notes, means each Rolling Stone will take home less than a solo performer than McCartney.

In other Desert Trip news, Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen hinted at future plans for the festival during a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, saying his band had already been approached about being part of a future lineup.

"There was some talk of us doing it next year," said Fagen. "You know, a lot of these people are still very creative and still have the will and the charisma to make something like that successful. On some level for a musician, a job is a job, no matter what they call it. The Senior-delic Festival or whatever it’s supposed to be — we don’t care so much what it says on the sign out front."